Franklin W. Minert Collection

Title

Franklin W. Minert Collection

Description

The Franklin W. Minert Collection contains photographic, textual and audiovisual materials relating to the career of Franklin Minert, a test pilot and boom operator for the Boeing Company, with items ranging from 1937-1993 (bulk 1940s-1950s).

The bulk of the collection consists of a total of 170 photographs and negatives documenting Boeing aircraft. Most of these are black-and-white, 8x10'' official Boeing photographs. Many depict U.S. Navy planes, but some images of commercial aircraft are also present. One folder contains photographs of Boeing employees and affiliates, including some of Minert. Boeing employees identified in these photographs include Sam Banister, Jack A. Danner, D.R. Donaldson, W.P. Elfendahl, Ira F. “Kettle Belly” Hewlett, Emil Hoeffer, Don L. Kelley, Orville Long, Henry S. "Sandy" McMurray, A. Elliott Merrill, Clayton L. Scott, Lyle E. Seehorn, and F. William Tunnell.

There is a small amount of textual material in the collection. One folder contains identification cards, pilots’ licenses, medical forms, membership cards, certificates, and registrations. One folder consists of assorted documents, including a certificate commemorating Minert’s 25 years at Boeing, various notes, and boom operator’s monthly reports for the KC-135 aircraft. There is one folder of newspaper clippings related to Minert and the Boeing Company and includes several issues of Boeing News with relevant articles highlighted. There is also a 1978 NASA Space Shuttle poster designed by Barron Storey.

The collection also contains 11 films, which are a mix of professional and personal documentation. Four of the films contain segments depicting aerial refueling, primarily U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy aircraft. Most contain aerial and landscape footage, much shot in Utah. Several of the films are home movies. Two of the films contain footage of the 1962 Century 21 Exposition in Seattle, Washington. The films range from about two to thirteen minutes long.

Home movie films:

  • Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair) Seattle, Washington, 1962
  • Footage of landscape and wildlife, likely in Utah, and brief airfield scene, circa 1950s-1960s
  • Landscapes and landmarks, Utah, circa 1950s-1960s
  • Landscapes and Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair), 1962
  • Franklin W. Minert family home movies

Boeing-related films:

  • Aerial refueling of Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and views of terrain and other aircraft, circa 1950s-1960s
  • Aerial views of mountains, circa 1950s-1960s
  • Aerial refueling scenes, circa 1950s-1960s
  • Boeing 367-80 in flight and aerial refueling scenes, circa 1950s-1960s
  • Aerial views and airfield activities, circa 1950s-1960s
  • Boeing KC-135 aerial refueling scenes, circa 1950s-1960s

Digitized Materials: The film materials and two photographs have been digitized from this collection.

Please note that materials on TMOF: Digital Collections are presented as historical objects and are unaltered and uncensored. See our Disclaimers and Policies page for more information.

Date

circa 1940s-1980s

Creator

Minert, Franklin W., 1906-

Language

All materials are in English.

Rights Holder

The Museum of Flight Archives

Rights

Permission to publish material from the Franklin W. Minert Collection must be obtained from The Museum of Flight Archives.

Bibliographic Citation

The Franklin W. Minert Collection/The Museum of Flight

Identifier

2008-11-23

Collection Organization

Collection Items

[Flight crew with Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter, Renton, Washington]
Photograph of a flight crew with a U.S. Air Force Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter, Renton, Washington, November 9, 1956. The crew is identified as (from left to right) Franklin W. Minert, Buffington (no first name or initials given), Donald L. Kelley,…

[Franklin W. Minert standing next to Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Andy Gump"]
Photograph of Franklin W. Minert standing next to "Andy Gump," a Boeing B-29 Superfortress aircraft, circa 1940s-1950s. The aircraft's nose art depicts the cartoon character Andy Gump.

[Boeing KC-135 aerial refueling scenes, circa 1950s-1960s]
Film footage of Boeing KC-135 aerial refueling scenes, circa 1950s-1960s. The footage is comprised of scenes filmed from an unidentified U.S. Air Force aircraft, showing a Boeing KC-135 in flight and aerially refueling a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.…

[Franklin W. Minert family home movies]
Franklin W. Minert family home movies, circa 1950s-1960s. The film footage is comprised of short clips related to the Minert family. Scenes include dogs at play, people looking at flowers in a yard, and exterior and interior shots of a house. No…

[Aerial views and airfield activities in Washington State, circa 1950s-1960s]
Film footage of aerial views and airfield activities in Washington State, circa 1950s-1960s. The footage features several aerial views filmed from an unidentified U.S. Air Force aircraft, as well as brief scenes of aircraft at a military airfield,…

[Landscapes and Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair), 1962]
Film footage of landscapes and the Century 21 Exposition, also known as the Seattle World's Fair, Seattle, Washington, 1962. The first segment consists of panning shots of landscapes in unidentified locations. This includes a cultivated garden, a dam…

[Boeing 367-80 in flight and aerial refueling scenes, circa 1950s-1960s]
Film footage of the Boeing 367-80 in flight and aerial refueling scenes, circa 1950s-1960s. The first segment features several shots of the Boeing 367-80 (also known as the Dash 80) in flight near Mount Rainier (Washington). This is followed by…

[Landscapes and landmarks, Utah, circa 1950s-1960s]
Film footage of landscapes and landmarks, Utah, circa 1950s-1960s. The footage includes several panning shots of various landscapes, showing towns, deserts, scrublands, hills, a ranch, and a garden. Other scenes depict Utah landmarks, such as Salt…

[Aerial refueling scenes, circa 1950s-1960s]
Film footage of aerial refueling scenes, circa 1950s-1960s. The footage is filmed from inside a tanker aircraft, possibly a Boeing KC-135, and depicts several aerial refueling scenes of U.S. Air Force aircraft, showing the aircraft approaching the…

[Footage of landscape and wildlife, likely in Utah, and brief airfield scene, circa 1950s-1960s]
Film footage of landscape and wildlife, likely in Utah, and a brief airfield scene, circa 1950s-1960s. The footage is primarily comprised of short clips of various wildlife, as well as landscape shots depicting a small town, scrublands, and a lake.…
View all 13 items